Lara Trump, President Trump’s daughter-in-law and one of his strongest defender during the 2020 presidential election is eyeing her own political future — running for Senate in her own home state of North Carolina
According to three of Lara’s closest allies who spoke to the New York Times, the senior advisor to the Trump 2020 is considering a 2022 bid for Senate as the current Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) term ends and has said he will retire.
Mercedes Schlapp, a Trump campaign adviser who traveled with Lara as part of the Women For Trump coalition, called her “very charismatic” with “a natural instinct for politics.”
“In North Carolina, in particular, she’s a household name and people know her,” Schlapp told the Times. “She worked really hard on the campaign and was very involved in a lot of decisions throughout.”
Trump won North Carolina, but by a smaller margin than in 2016 just by 1.3 percentage points after a week and a half waiting for the final call of the race. The Tar Heel State is being considered as an emerging swing state based on the 2020 outcomes of the presidential race and the Senate race. Sen. Thom Tillis won reelection for a second term by 1.8 percentage points against sex scandal-plagued Democrat Cal Cunningham. It became the most expensive Senate race in history, with the two parties spending nearly $300 million combined, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
The race to replace Burr in the Tar Heel State will be considered tightly contested, both in the primary races and the general election. If Lara does go forward in putting her name for the empty seat, she will join other Republican lawmakers who are already lining up to run.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who was a former congressman representing North Carolina 11th Congressional district from 2013 to 2020 is widely expected to move back to North Carolina should the outcome of the 2020 election stands and will mount a run for the seat earlier to get ahead of the game, according to a GOP source involved in Senate races.
Rep. Mark Walker, a Trump ally whom the president has encouraged to run for Burr’s seat while he briefly considered primary Tillis has indicated he might do so. Former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, Tim Moore, the North Carolina Speaker of the House, and Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Forest, who just lost a race against the Democratic incumbent, Roy Cooper are all expected to jump into the fold.
However, none of those experience Republican lawmakers have what the former Trump 2020 campaign senior advisor has to help her win the race should she run. A native North Carolinian hailing from Wilmington, Lara has the name as she is married to one of the president’s sons Eric Trump, and it’s no question the family, especially Trump will undoubtedly support and campaign alongside her. Along with having the name and the family, Lara’s fundraising ability to raise small donations online and holding fundraising events with high donors will help fuel her campaign as Democrats will eye this seat as one of their top targets should they fail to win the upcoming twin run-off races in Georgia. On top of having the name and fundraising capability, Lara was able to draw big crowd rallies as she campaigned solo or as part of the Trump campaign coalitions leading up to the election throughout the Tar Heel State.
The combination of having the Trump family alongside her, a fundraising capacities unprecedented and her campaign draw to get people out to rallies and vote would upend the crowded GOP field should Lara announce her candidacy.
“She would be formidable,” Kellyanne Conway, a former White House official said about Lara. “She has the trifecta: she can raise money, raise awareness of key issues and raise attention to her race. Unlike many typical politicians, she connects with people and is a compelling messenger.”
Lara has declined to comment about her future plans.
Dan ForestLara TrumpMark MeadowsNorth CarolinaPat McCroryPresident TrumpRep. Mark WalkerRepublicansSen. Richard BurrTim MooreTrump 2020 Campaign
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